(Golden Oaks Library, Eric’s P.O.V)

After another close encounter with the Empire and bringing in a clone from the Clone Wars with me, we all headed back to the Library where Princesses Celestia and Luna were to meet us as Echo and I gave our views on the Clone Wars. “So, how do you know him Eric and what was the Clone Wars?” Luna asked as she looked at Echo with a curious expression. “Well you see when I was little and growing up on Balmorra, My Mother and I lived peacefully as I would dream of becoming something more, but all of that changed when my homeworld was invaded by the Separatists. My mother was killed by the droids as I did something I would never expect and it was using the force. A Jedi was on Balmorra during the time and little did I know he would be my future master. He saw me using the force to convince him that I could be a potential Jedi.” I explained as the others nodded in understanding. “So after leaving my homeworld behind, I was sent to Coruscant to be trained as a Jedi.” I said as I told them about my mother’s unfortunate end, and the beginning of my Jedi training. “I was only 13 when my training began, I had to control my emotions and the force if I were to master the more advanced skills which include the Jedi Mind Trick. After I turned 17 I received my Kyber Crystal for my lightsaber and I began my lightsaber training after I had constructed my weapon.” I pulled my lightsaber off of my belt and placed it on the table. I concentrated on the force to disassemble my lightsaber into the pieces I used to create it and shining like the stars was the heart of the Jedi weapon was the Kyber Crystal.

“So how do you create and maintain such a device?” Celestia asked looking at the crystal. “Every lightsaber is as unique as the Jedi who wields it, the Force guides the Jedi to find their crystal and the materials that are used to build the hilt. Basically I let the force guide me when I created my weapon. My lightsaber is maneuverable and easy to manipulate allowing me to act quickly. Some Jedi would be dual wielders or having two lightsabers or having two blades on one hilt.” I explained as I put my lightsaber back together. “So there are many styles tailored to the needs of the user?” Twilight asked with a smile. “There are at least seven different forms of lightsaber combat: Shii Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Shien/Djem So, Niman, Juyo/Vaapad, and Jarkai duel blade fencing. Each form builds off of one another, but one thing to note about the Juyo style is that this style is very popular amongst the Sith because it relies on their aggressive feelings to help them be fast and unpredictable in their attacks, Master Windu created Vaapad, which is technically a better version of Juyo since it feeds off of your opponent’s energy as you fight. I personally use Ataru, Shien/Djem So, and Soresu as my attack/defense form.” I said as I pointed out the major difference between the two different forms of Form VII lightsaber combat.

“But what happened after your training?” Rainbow asked as she then thought about when the Clone Wars began. “Well after completing my training, I was no longer a Youngling and considered a Padawan when I was assigned to the Jedi who rescued me from Balmorra, Master Athen Charrel. I owed my life to him so it would be fair that someday in the future I would return the favor. So I trained with my master for several months from overcoming Jedi Trials to become a knight, to getting lectures about the Jedi Way. But I would see my first combat mission on the First Battle of Geonosis, when Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were captured by Count Dooku.” I took a moment to see the ponies were interested and continued onto the Beginning of the Clone Wars.

“In the arena, me and my master were undercover as Master Windu took charge and after revealing himself so did we and all the Jedi jumped into the arena to fight off droids. In the midst of battle, I saw Mace Windu slice off Jango Fett’s head, or the assassin that tried to eliminate Senator Amidala. The battle in the arena was possibly one of the nastiest ground battles I ever participated in as there were thousands, if not millions of droids coming out to fight, many Jedi died that day, but at some point Dooku ordered a cease fire to get us to surrender, Master Windu refused, just as we were all ready to fight to our deaths, Master Yoda arrived with Clone Gunships and rescued us. After that battle, The Clone Wars had officially began and the main Battle on Geonosis began with some Jedi leading clone battalions. My Master and I lead the 612th Attack Battalion with Commander Ganch.” I said as I turned to Echo who nodded and began to tell his story.

(Echo’s P.O.V)

As Eric motioned me to go ahead and tell my part, I began when I was only a trainee in Domino Squad before I joined the war. “Well, My story begins on Kamino, the birthplace for all clones where we are trained for combat. When were old enough to begin our training, we are given digits that indicate who we are like mine is 1409. I was assigned to Domino Squad with Hevy, Cutup, Fives, and Droidbait. They were my brothers and my friends even when we were trained as soldiers, and nothing more. We had our differences and using them would be either good or bad for us and when we had to complete the Citadel Challenge where we had to capture a certain point to pass and we would fail most of the time.” I said with a small chuckle. “We were about to become one of the rejects when a good friend named 99 gave us some good advice and thanks to him, we wouldn’t have become troopers. It’s too bad that 99 died during the Clanker’s assault on Kamino, I wasn’t there for that, since I was proclaimed dead at the time, I heard about it from the Republic Holonet.” I said as I hung my head in respect for my fallen brother, even if he wasn’t able to become a trooper himself. “Excuse my interruption, but who are these ‘Clankers’ you mentioned?” The mare known as Celestia asked me about the nickname of the Separatists main fighting force. “When I say ‘Clankers’, I’m talking about the droids that are the primary fighting force of the Separatist forces.” I answered as I looked at the giant white mare.

“So what kind of soldier were you after you graduated?” Rarity asked as Echo smiled at the memory of his graduation. “Well after we graduated, We were called ‘Shinies’ where are our armor is shiny and new like any new recruit and our first assignment was on the Rishi Moon Outpost near Kamino to detect or alert the Republic of a possible invasion on Kamino.” I said as my smile slowly faded into a frown. “Work at the Rishi Moon Outpost, was extremely boring, the only amount of action we got there was a meteor shower. That all changed when a group of droids called Commando Droids took over and killed Droidbait, our Sergeant and a giant eel within the moon ate Cutup. The rest of my squadmates and I were relieved when Commander Cody, and Captain Rex came to help us out. After we discovered that recapturing the Outpost was now pointless as droid reinforcements had already arrived we decided to destroy the Outpost with Liquid Tabanna, a highly explosive liquid. We set the charges, but the bomb had to be fired manually because the timer was fried and Hevy stayed behind, and sacrificed himself. After that the rest of us weren’t Shinies anymore and we made it into the 501st Legion.” I said as I felt tears stinging my eyes. “Well I bet he would have been really proud of you.” Luna said wiping a tear from her eye. “Thanks, but it would’ve been better if he was with us.” I said as I wished that my brother had survived to be part of the 501st Legion. Eric looked at him and thought to take over as I took a moment.

(Eric’s P.O.V)

“OK, so what happened after Geonosis?” Roseluck asked me as I tried to remember. “After the 612th broke through a defense area guarding a droid factory, I had received confirmation that Dooku escaped, Anakin and Obi-wan were injured, but We had won the battle.” I remembered celebrating our first successful mission. “Were this Anakin and Obi-Wan alright?” Celestia asked. “Yeah, Anakin only lost his lower right forearm from a lightsaber similar to how I lost my hand.” I revealed my robotic left hand. “So what type of clones were there and how big was the army?” Twilight asked curiously. “The army was enormous, as in the Clone Army could occupy Canterlot all the way to the Crystal Empire. As for the types of clones, we had battalions for specific jobs and objectives such as Attack for the 501st, 212th, 327th, 612th, and regular troopers.” I explained before moving on.

“So after Geonosis, my master and I had our own fleet to scout enemy activity and protect systems in the outer rim, but one ship the Separatists had devastated many fleets and we did not dare attempt to attack it, but it was known as the Malevolence, I’ve heard from the reports, that this vessel was extremely massive and it could take all of the punishment we could give it, and it had an ion cannon as a weapon.” I said as I took a moment to rest. “What’s an ion cannon?” Pinkie asked with a quirked eyebrow. “An ion cannon is a weapon that neutralized all power to ships that were hit by the pulse wave, making them unable to fight back against the separatist cruiser.” The ponies looked concerned to know that many ships were destroyed due to the lack of defense once hit with that kind of energy. “What happened to the Malevolence?” Roseluck asked concerned.

“Anakin Skywalker flew in a squad of bombers to stop the Malevolence from using the ion cannon against the Medical station, afterwards Anakin and Obi-Wan infiltrated the ship when Senator Amidala was lured into a trap and got captured, Anakin found the Senator and they managed to ‘fix’ the hyperdrive, and then the droids fired up the hyperdrive and the vessel was sent on a collision course to a moon and exploded, the vessel’s commanding officer, General Grievous fled.” This set me up for an obvious question. “Who was General Grievous?” Fluttershy asked timidly. “General Grievous was a Kaleesh warrior that was given cybernetic refits to keep him alive courtesy of Count Dooku, Grievous was also an infamous Jedi hunter who used the lightsabers of the very Jedi he killed, Vader just kills them because the Emperor tells him to, Grievous did for a hobby, I’ve heard from various reports, that Grievous has used up to at least four lightsabers at once.” I said as I told them about one of the most terrifying Jedi hunters before Vader. “So after the destruction of the Malevolence, my fleet were reassigned to another system to defend and liberate and that was under attack by the Separatists and it was Ryloth.” I explained the operations and major events that took place from the Barris Offee Trial, to the Liberation of Christophsis where I later became a Jedi Knight. Then it came to the point where the war was ending and it came to the point where I was on my last mission over Kashyyyk.

(Echo’s P.O.V)

After Eric told us about his career during the Clone Wars, I decided to tell them about the various things I’ve been doing before my ‘death’. “Alright since Eric is taking a break from telling his story, how about I tell some of my story.” Everypony in the room nodded in agreement. “Right so during my time in the 501st, I went to a lot of interesting places, but one time I helped repel Separatist forces from my native home of Kamino. Poor old 99 died trying to help get some weapons to some of our younger brothers so they could at least defend themselves, I have to admit that even if 99 wasn’t an official soldier, he sure behaved like one.” I said as I remembered the bravery 99 displayed during the battle of Kamino. “That’s so sad, it must have hit you pretty hard.” Pinkie said as she sat by my side. “Yeah it did, but it further reinforced the fact that we are better than the Clankers because we can make our own decisions upon occasion.” I said with small smile. “Another time I helped rescue a Jedi from Separatist captivity during the attack on the Citadel alongside Anakin, and Obi-Wan.” I said as I prepared them for the shocking fact that I didn’t die as the action report said. “So what happened when you ‘died’?” Applejack asked curiously.

“Well when Anakin and Obi-Wan, my squadmates and I found Jedi Master Even Piell we were stopped by the prison’s warden, Osi Sobeck and his droids. We were cutting it close, ultimately it was for nothing as our shuttle was being pulverized by Commando Droids on laser cannons, I tried to stop one, but it shot me and destroyed the shuttle, I don’t remember much after that, though.” I said as I recalled the Citadel Incident as I like to call it. “From what you’ve told us it seems you really cared about the people you’ve worked with.” Twilight said with her ears drooping and looking sad. “I did, but I know that they would’ve done same, up until I had my inhibitor chip removed, I completely lost faith in them as they, and one of my greatest allies turned against the Republic and all it stood for.” I said as my sadness turned into anger. Eric saw this and he knew what I meant; Order 66.

“Was this that Order someone commenced to kill the Jedi?” Roseluck asked a little scared as Eric nodded his head and turned to me to see how I survived Order 66. “Unfortunately, yes it was, Order 66 was issued on the same night Anakin Skywalker became the newly christened Darth Vader and when he laid waste to all the Jedi and the Younglings in the Jedi Temple. Simultaneously, Sidious gave out Order 66 to all of the Clone Commanders that had Jedi as their commanding officers, it was then I knew the true purpose of the Clones when I went to the Jedi Temple and saw this.” I took out my holocommunicator and showed them a recording of the Temple Slaughter where it featured Anakin and several thousand clones killing Younglings. “This is horrible, why would anypony do this to those innocent children?” Celestia said as she and the others fought the urge to cry, or empty their stomachs. “Well here’s your answer.” I said as I played the rest of the recording which showed Sidious himself. “You’ve done well my new apprentice, now Lord Vader, go and bring peace to the Empire.” The recording of Sidious said as my former friend Anakin became the very thing he was supposed to destroy. After that particular scene I shut off my holocommunicator. “I’m so sorry that this happened to both of you.” Roseluck said as she nuzzled Eric. Pinkie’s mane was flat and she nuzzled my side affectionately, I responded to her affection by gently scratching behind her left ear. “After that I needed to stay undercover, so I joined the Stormtroopers to hopefully remain undetected, but then hearing about Eric sparked hope that I can escape with the Order I sworn to serve and when Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle came along and I joined up with the Eric to fight the Empire, and that wraps things up for me. Eric do you have any other interesting things I should know about since we met up?” I said as I looked at Roseluck and saw a ring around her hoof and the way she was sitting with Eric made me curious. “Well, on my first encounter with the Empire, I learned that Barriss Offee, the Jedi Traitor, became an Inquisitor and tried to make me give her information on any Jedi whereabouts. After a little duel and earning me this scar, she turned over to the light and sacrificed herself for everypony else before I set a Star Destroyer toward the sun. Some time later I asked Roseluck to marry me, then Vader and the Emperor came, and that’s when found each other.” Eric said as he gave me some extra information about his time here before we met up on the Death Star.

“I hate to ask, but what is this Death Star you two mentioned earlier?” Luna asked as Eric and I both cringed at our knowledge of what the Death Star was. “The Death Star is a space station that has enough firepower to blow an entire planet to smithereens, but right now it’s still under construction, but I have no doubt, that when it’s finished, the Emperor will test it on this planet, so we need a plan for an evacuation, in case of such an event will happen.” I said as all of the ponies were shocked to hear that such a thing exists.

(Eric’s P.O.V)

After retelling the Clone Wars, I felt they now had a better understanding of what we were up against, but finding some way to destroy the prototype Death Star will take some serious planning. We decided to look into finding a way to destroy the superweapon after I took some time to heal. I also had a little something for Echo. “Hey Echo, follow me please.” I lead him over to my starfighter nearby the library and opened a secret compartment near the droid slot. I pulled out his old helmet he wore from the Citadel, I cleaned it up after retrieving it and spruced it up along with some old clone armor. “Here, a little something to feel like your old self.” I said as I handed him his armor. “W-where, did you get this stuff?” Echo asked as his jaw nearly dropped to the ground in awe of how well his old gear was taken care of. “Before Kashyyyk, I made a visit to the Citadel to find your helmet and some armor and figured you’d one day return, and it seems like it was worth the wait.” I said as Echo looked over the armor. “Well Thank you sir, for this, it sure beats this stormtrooper armor.” Echo as we went back into the library so Echo could change his clothes. I stood outside with the night sky above me looking at the cosmos that was space as I felt something different through the force and it wasn’t a bad presence, but rather a good and it was too far to know for sure, but hopefully it will help to serve good.

(Wild Space, Republic Consular Cruiser, 3rd P.O.V)

Alone in space with nothing more than an old Republic cruiser and one man aboard. But this man had never been mentioned or seen before the Invasion of Balmorra and served as a great Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars. Removing his hood, he had black hair, brown eyes, and a scar just above his cheek and under his right eye. He closed his eyes for just a moment as he felt something through the Force, a presence he had not felt since leaving Balmorra and that presence made him smile. “Soon, we’ll meet again, my son.”

Author's Note

Hello Ponies and Bronies, Obsidian here to say that I hope this clears up the backstory and some more detail of Eric and Echo's backstory in the Clone Wars, I wanted to make this fit in the time frame of 3 years of war so I decided to set Eric's training before the war. I want to thank Randblitz for editing and I also hope you enjoyed the little foreshadow at the end.

Be sure to Like, Comment, Favorite, and Follow me and Randablitz and til next time, May the Force be with you.